COLORADO SPRINGS — Weeping uncontrollably, a teenage mother was sentenced Friday to 24 years in prison for failing to intervene in what a judge called one of the worst cases of child abuse to come before his court.
Samantha Salaz, 19, pleaded guilty to felony child abuse after ignoring her 20-month-old daughter’s cries in April as a family member allegedly bound her with electrical tape and left her incapacitated under a running shower. The toddler nearly drowned, authorities said. She was pronounced dead, revived and placed on life-support in a vegetative state.
“The horrendous abuse this child suffered was really beyond comprehension,” said 4th Judicial District Judge Thomas L. Kennedy, likening the child’s treatment to “torture” during an emotionally charged hearing in which even he was overcome by tears.
Salaz’s aunt, Mary Horsley, 50, is due for trial in November on charges of attempted first-degree murder and felony child abuse.
Lance Benzel, The Gazette
